China and Russia began joint naval drills:
China and Russia began joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan recently.
- The Sea of Japan, or East Sea, is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean.
- It is bound by Japan and Sakhalin (Sakhalin Oblast, Russia) to the east and by mainland Russia, North Korea and South Korea to the west.
- It covers an area of 978,000 sq.km.
- The sea is almost elliptical, having its major axis from southwest to northeast.
- It is connected with the East China Sea in the south via the Tsushima and Korea straits and with the Okhotsk Sea in the north by the La Perouse and Tatar straits.
- In the east, it is connected with the Inland Sea of Japan via the Kanmon Strait and the Pacific Ocean by the Tsugaru Strait.
- The average depth is 1,667 meters. Dohoku Seamount, an underwater volcano, is its deepest point.
- Its relatively warm waters contribute greatly to the mild climate of Japan.
- Few rivers discharge into the sea, and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
- Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and the Pacific Ocean.
- Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean.
- The sea has no large islands, bays, or capes. Except for the South Korean island of Ulleungdo, all the other small islands are situated near the eastern coast of the sea.
- The sea is known for its high concentration of oxygen (dissolved in the seawater), which results in high biological productivity.
- Mining for mineral deposits like magnetite, natural gas, and petroleum are some of the major economic activities that are carried out in the Sea of Japan.
